CN104420927B

CN104420927B - Control valve for lubricant nozzle

Info

Publication number: CN104420927B
Application number: CN201410460586.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: T.施奈德
Original assignee: MAN Truck and Bus SE
Current assignee: MAN Truck and Bus SE
Priority date: 2013-09-11
Filing date: 2014-09-11
Publication date: 2020-02-07
Anticipated expiration: 2034-09-11
Also published as: DE102013014930A1; US20150068471A1; CN104420927A; EP2848787A1; EP2848787B1; US9540986B2

Abstract

The invention relates to a control valve for a lubricant nozzle, in particular for an oil atomizer, for cooling a piston of an internal combustion engine. The invention also relates to a lubricant nozzle and a lubricant supply for a reciprocating piston engine of a motor vehicle. The control valve includes: at least one passage opening through which lubricant can flow; a control member which is movable in a respective direction of movement and, depending on its position, forms an opening cross section with the passage opening to at least partially open or close the passage opening; and an actuating member by means of which the control member is movable between at least one first position in which the lubricant is at a first pressure, a second position in which the lubricant is at a second pressure and a third position in which the lubricant is at a third pressure, depending on the pressure of the lubricant. Here, the second pressure is greater than the first pressure but less than the third pressure; wherein the opening cross section formed at the second position is larger than the opening cross sections at the first position and the third position.

Description

Control valve for lubricant nozzle

Technical Field

The invention relates to a control valve for a lubricant nozzle, in particular for an oil atomizer, for cooling a piston of an internal combustion engine. The invention also relates to a lubricant nozzle and a lubricant supply for a reciprocating piston engine of a motor vehicle.

Background

The use of oil spray nozzles for the purpose of cooling the piston is known from the prior art. Here, the oil is sprayed through nozzles onto those locations of the piston that are to be cooled. Here, by means of the valve, the oil supplied by the oil atomizer can be controlled according to various parameters in a manner dependent on the type of construction and configuration. In the case of a valve of the type in question, for example, a spring-loaded regulating piston is displaced, thus opening an opening, through which oil can then be conveyed to the piston via a nozzle.

DE 10261180 a1 discloses a universal valve for a lubricant line of a motor vehicle, which has a control part which is assigned to a control opening and which, by means of at least one first actuating part, is preloaded into at least one end position in a valve housing, which closes the control opening, and which, by means of at least one second actuating part, is movable into an open position. Here, the pressure of the lubricant on the control member via the control opening works perpendicular to the direction of movement of the control member. Since the pressure exerted by the lubricant on the control member via the control opening acts perpendicular to the movement of the control member, the first and second actuating members can be designed to be correspondingly small.

DE 102010023876 a1 discloses a control valve having at least two actuating elements by means of which the control element can be moved between at least two positions, wherein at least one actuating element can be electrically actuated in order to move the control element between the two positions.

EP 2213851 a2 discloses an oil supply for lubricating a cylinder and/or cooling a piston, wherein the oil supply is designed such that the cylinder is continuously lubricated, while the cooling of the piston is switchable, and/or such that the cylinder is already lubricated in the presence of a low oil pressure at which the piston is not yet cooled.

The valves for oil atomizer nozzles known from the prior art have the disadvantage that they do not supply lubricant to the piston under all operating conditions and do not cool the piston on demand by means of the lubricant.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a control valve for a lubricant nozzle, in particular for an oil atomizer nozzle, for cooling a piston of an internal combustion engine, which control valve avoids the disadvantages of conventional control valves. In particular, the control valve should allow opening and closing of the control valve according to the requirements.

The object is achieved in each case by means of a control valve for a lubricant nozzle for cooling a piston of an internal combustion engine having the features of the independent claim. Advantageous embodiments and uses of the invention are defined in the dependent claims and will be explained in more detail in the following description, partly with reference to the figures.

The invention is based on the recognition that: with known lubricant spray nozzles, the lubricant supply to the piston may be inadequate, since an excessively high coolant oil flow rate at full load may lead to a backlash effect in the piston cooling tube. When such a backlash effect occurs, the subsequently fed lubricant is no longer delivered to the interior of the piston in sufficient quantity, resulting in insufficient cooling of the piston. An oil spray nozzle that is too small can in turn have the effect that: at low engine speeds, the piston is again supplied with an insufficient amount of oil. These effects can be avoided by means of the present invention.

The present invention therefore comprises the following general technical teaching: in the higher engine speed range, or in the case of a high pressure of the fed lubricant, the opening cross section through which the lubricant is fed to the lubricant spray nozzle is reduced by the control valve relative to the medium engine speed range or the medium pressure of the fed lubricant, in order to reduce the feeding of the lubricant. In this way, a back-flushing effect can be reliably prevented.

In connection with the prior art, the control valve according to the invention for cooling a lubricant nozzle of a piston of an internal combustion engine has at least one passage opening through which lubricant can flow. The channel opening is open to the outside, so that lubricant emerging from the channel opening can be conveyed onwards to the lubricant spray nozzle, for example, via a feed line. The control valve furthermore comprises a control part which is movable in the respective direction of movement and which, depending on its position, forms an opening cross section with the passage opening in order to at least partially open or close the passage opening.

The control valve furthermore comprises an actuating element by means of which the control element can be moved between at least one first position in which the lubricant is at a first pressure, a second position in which the lubricant is at a second pressure and a third position in which the lubricant is at a third pressure, depending on the pressure of the lubricant in the lubricant inlet. Here, the second pressure is greater than the first pressure but less than the third pressure. The pressure of the lubricant is the lubricant pressure in the lubricant inlet at the inlet of the control valve. The lubricant is delivered to the control valve inlet by means of a pump, which is typically coupled to the speed of the engine, such that the lubricant pressure upstream of the control valve increases as the engine speed increases. Oil may be used as a lubricant, such that in the following, the expressions "oil" and "oil spray nozzle" will be repeatedly used as an alternative to the expressions "lubricant" and "lubricant spray nozzle".

According to a general aspect of the present invention, the opening cross section formed at the second position is larger than the opening cross sections at the first position and the third position. In this way, the piston can be supplied with coolant in an engine speed-dependent manner, according to demand, while avoiding the backlash effect. It is therefore possible, for example, at engine idle speed or in a low engine speed range in which no or only a small amount of cooling oil is required, to move the control member into the first position in order to close the passage opening or in order to open only a small opening cross section. An oil spray nozzle of too small a design can then have the effect of: at low engine speeds, the piston is again supplied with an insufficient amount of oil. These effects can be avoided by means of the present invention. In the medium engine speed range, the control member in the second position may form a large (preferably maximum) opening cross-section with the passage opening. In the high engine speed range, and therefore in the presence of high lubricant pressures, the control member in the third position reduces the opening cross section, so that an excessively high oil throughput is avoided, in order to prevent a backlash effect in the piston cooling tube. The oil throughput depends on the size of the opening cross section formed and the lubricant pressure.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the control member is movable in a continuous manner between a first position, a second position and a third position, and the actuating member is designed to set the control member position, and thus the opening cross section, such that the gradient of lubricant throughput is smaller in the higher pressure range than in the medium pressure range of the lubricant. In this manner, the lubricant throughput is prevented from being excessively increased due to the high pressure. The gradient of lubricant throughput is a gradient of distribution of lubricant throughput through the control valve that varies with engine speed and/or lubricant pressure at the valve inlet. For example, experimental tests may be performed to determine an optimal profile of lubricant throughput as a function of lubricant pressure in a higher pressure range that allows for adequate piston cooling while preventing the occurrence of the backlash effect. The actuation and control members and the passage openings can then be configured accordingly so that the control valve controls the lubricant throughput according to the optimal distribution curve.

It is particularly advantageous to set the position of the control member and thus the opening cross section such that a substantially constant lubricant throughput through the passage opening is achieved in the higher pressure range of the lubricant. This is based on the inventors' following observations: this distribution allows for optimal piston cooling and prevents the backlash effect in an efficient manner. A constant lubricant throughput can be achieved by means of a corresponding configuration and tuning of the control valve. For this purpose, the throughput of coolant in the case of an increase in the lubricant pressure is reduced by reducing the size of the opening cross section, which is set such that in this way the increased throughput of coolant per unit surface area due to the increase in pressure is compensated for.

In a preferred embodiment, the pressure exerted by the lubricant on the control member via the active surface of the control member acts on the control member at least substantially in a direction which is one direction of movement of said control member. In particular, this pressure acts in a movement direction that the movement of the control member must follow in order to partially or completely open the passage opening of the control valve. The passage opening and thus the control valve can then be opened due to the setting of a specific pressure of the lubricant. When the opposing force (particularly the preload force) applied by the actuation member to the control member is overcome, the pressure applied on the control member causes the control member to move. It is thus preferred that the actuating movement of the control member increases with increasing pressure of the lubricant.

It is preferred that the control member is in the form of a piston and is guided within a cylindrical recess of the control valve housing (e.g. in a sliding sleeve), wherein a passage opening is provided in a cylindrical guide surface of the recess for the control member. The implementation as a piston ensures a simple and low-friction guidance of the control member. Furthermore, the abutment surface defining the control movement of the control member can be realized in a simple manner.

In an advantageous variant of this embodiment, the piston has an opening, in particular a radial opening, in its piston skirt, through which the lubricant can flow and which is connected on one side in a communicating manner through the piston interior to the lubricant inlet and, when the piston is in the predetermined position range, forms a communicating connection with the passage opening on the other side, wherein the opening cross section is formed by the intersection of the passage opening and the radial opening. Another possibility provided by embodiments according to the invention is that as the pressure of the lubricant increases, the piston moves towards the actuating element such that the overlap increases from the first position to the second position and then decreases again from the second position to the third position.

A particular advantage of this embodiment is thus that the opening cross section between the control member and the passage opening can be made to increase in a stepwise manner and decrease in a stepwise manner as the control member is moved in a single linear movement.

The actuating member is preferably in the form of a spring element by means of which the control member can be moved to various positions under the spring force exerted by the spring element. The spring element may for example be in the form of a coil spring or a leaf spring. This has the following advantages: a stable, reliable and inexpensive control valve with a simple structure and a small structural space requirement can be provided, and which has a mechanical actuating mechanism.

In this design variant, the oil throughput is dependent, in particular, on the spring characteristic and the pressure-dependent opening of the opening cross section. By tuning the spring characteristic curve or the spring characteristic and the size of the passage opening and the radial opening, the control valve can be adapted in a structurally simple manner to the cooling oil flow rate requirements specific to the engine.

It is preferred that the passage opening is formed by an annular tube or an annular groove introduced into the control valve housing and another component, for example a sliding sleeve or a cylindrical guide for the control part.

Another aspect of the invention relates to a lubricant supply device for a reciprocating piston engine of a motor vehicle, in particular a utility vehicle, having: at least one lubricant spray nozzle, in particular an oil spray nozzle, by means of which lubricant can be sprayed onto at least one piston of a reciprocating piston engine; and at least one lubricant inlet opening, by means of which lubricant can be fed to the lubricant spray nozzle, wherein a control valve according to an aspect described above is arranged upstream of the lubricant spray nozzle, seen in the flow direction of the lubricant to said lubricant spray nozzle, by means of which control valve the flow rate of the lubricant to be fed to the lubricant spray nozzle can be set. Advantageously, at least one lubricant spray nozzle is assigned to each piston of the reciprocating piston engine.

According to an embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the lubricant supply device has a plurality of lubricant spray nozzles, wherein a separate control valve according to the above-described aspect is arranged upstream of each lubricant spray nozzle, by means of which control valve the flow rate of the lubricant to be fed to the lubricant spray nozzles can be set. The control valves are thus mounted in a decentralized configuration.

Alternatively, it is also possible to provide a centrally shown control valve according to the above-described aspect, which is arranged in the lubricant manifold in order to set the lubricant flow rate to be fed centrally for all lubricant spray nozzles.

Another aspect of the invention relates to a motor vehicle, in particular a utility vehicle, or an internal combustion engine, having a control valve and/or a lubricant supply according to any of the aspects described above.

It is essential in the teaching described that the engine cooling system and thus also the oil spray nozzles are fed with a constant displacement pump coupled to the engine speed. There is thus a direct dependency between the engine speed and the delivery pump performance. In particular in the case of constant displacement pumps, the described configuration is advantageous in which the piston again continuously reduces the cross-sectional opening in the higher engine speed range in order to produce a substantially constant lubricant throughput through the passage opening.

As an alternative to a constant displacement pump coupled to the engine speed, it is also possible to use an oil pump that is regulated according to demand, for example a variable oil pump, which can be controlled electrically, pneumatically or hydraulically. By using the invention, the cooling oil requirement of the piston and thus also the supply to other users located in the oil circuit are controlled/influenced in principle. For example, at higher engine speeds, and as lubricant throughput at the gallery openings decreases, it may be possible to achieve reduced cooling at the piston, as well as improved lubrication and/or cooling to other areas of the engine. In summary, by means of the oil pump being regulated according to demand, oil pressure variations can directly influence the oil supply to one or more pistons and other engine zones. It is also possible to compensate for the opposite behaviour between the regulation of the set oil pressure and the required cooling oil demand by means of the control valve.

Drawings

Further details and advantages of the invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a control valve for an oil atomizer according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 2A-2E schematically illustrate different opening cross-sections as a function of piston position according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 shows a distribution diagram showing the oil throughput for different oil spray nozzles as a function of engine speed; and

fig. 4A and 4B illustrate a lubricant supply with control valves in a dispersed and concentrated configuration according to an exemplary embodiment.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a control valve 1 designed to be arranged in the oil pipe of an internal combustion engine and positioned upstream of an oil spray nozzle. Here, by means of the control valve 1, the oil pipe can be opened and closed as required, and thus lubricating oil can be supplied to the oil atomizer as required. By means of the oil atomizer, it is possible to spray lubricating oil to the pistons of the oil atomizer assigned to an internal combustion engine in the form of a reciprocating piston engine, the lubricating oil flowing through the oil lines and thus cooling the pistons.

The control valve 1 comprises a valve housing 8 and a control member in the form of a valve piston 6. The valve piston 6 is mounted in a valve housing 8 so as to be movable in the direction indicated by arrow B and preloaded into the closed position by means of an actuating member. Here, the actuating member 11 is for example in the form of a spring element 11, in particular a helical spring, a spiral spring or a leaf spring.

A passage opening 2 is also provided in the valve housing 8, through which passage opening 2 lubricant can flow and through which passage opening 2 oil coming out of the control valve 1 can be forwarded, for example via a feed line 13, to the oil atomizer 42. The passage opening is in the form of an annular tube or annular groove and is delimited by upper and lower opening edges 3.

The control valve 1 further comprises a sliding sleeve 7, the sliding sleeve 7 being received in a control valve housing 8 and guiding the piston 6 by means of the sliding sleeve 7. Here, the passage opening 2 is arranged in the sliding sleeve 7. The guidance and the relative mobility of the piston 6 relative to the sliding sleeve 7 ensure a reliable and unimpeded movement of the piston 6 and thus a high functional reliability of the control valve 1. In this case, the sliding sleeve 7 and/or the piston 6 can be made of a hard material, for example, and inserted into the housing 8 of the control valve 1.

Here, the open side (with a U-shaped cross-section) of the valve piston 6 faces the lubricant inlet 10. In its piston skirt 9, the valve piston 6 has radial openings 4 through which lubricant can flow, wherein the radial openings are connected in a communicating manner at one side by the piston interior 12 to the lubricant inlet 10 and, when the piston 6 is in a predetermined position range, at the other side, form a communicating connection with the passage opening 2. In this predetermined position range, it is possible for the lubricant which has flowed through the lubricant inlet 10 into the piston interior volume 12 to exit the control valve through the radial opening 4 and the passage opening 2 and be supplied to the oil atomizer through the lubricant line 13. This will be elucidated in more detail below.

The pressurized lubricating oil entering through the lubricant inlet 10 exerts a pressure on the piston 6, as indicated by the directional arrow P in fig. 1, wherein the pressure is directed in the axial direction of movement B of the piston 6, in which the piston 6 moves, in order to open or close the passage opening 2 and thus the oil pipe. By suitably presetting the preload force exerted by the spring 11 on the piston 6, for example by tuning the spring characteristic, it is possible to achieve the situation: wherein the control valve 1 and thus the lubricant duct is opened, and optionally also closed, when the lubricant is at a certain pressure.

As the pressure of the lubricant increases, the piston 6 moves towards the spring 11 such that the radial opening 4 moves past the passage opening 2. Depending on the position of the piston, the lubricant can assume different sizes depending on the overlap of the passage opening 2 and the radial opening 4, through which opening cross-sections emerge from the control valve 1. In particular, in the high pressure range of the lubricant, the piston can be moved such that the overlap and thus the opening cross section is reduced again.

This will be elucidated in more detail below on the basis of fig. 2A to 2E.

Fig. 2A-2E schematically show different opening cross-sections as a function of piston position according to an exemplary embodiment in order to illustrate the operating mode of the control valve 1. For the sake of simplicity of illustration, only the radial opening 4 and the passage opening 2 of the control valve 1 are shown in each case in fig. 2A-2E. In the present exemplary embodiment, the radial opening 4 has a pentagonal cross-section. But the radial openings may also have any other desired cross-section. For the sake of simplicity of illustration, the passage opening 2 in the form of an annular groove is shown in the plane of the drawing in an "expanded view".

Fig. 2A shows the first position of the piston 6 in a range of engine idle or low engine speeds, where there is no or low demand for cooling oil. In this case, the pressurized lubricating oil entering through the lubricant inlet 10 exerts a low pressure on the piston 6, which cannot overcome the preload force of the spring 11. The piston 6 and the radial opening 4 are thus arranged in an upper closed position, in which there is no overlap between the radial opening 4 and the passage opening, so that the piston skirt 9 closes the passage opening 2.

As the engine speed increases, the lubricant pressure increases and thus the pressure applied to the piston 6 also increases. Fig. 2B shows the state of the control valve 1 in an elevated engine speed range compared to fig. 2A, in which the lubricant exerts a greater pressure on the piston 6 than the preload force exerted by the spring 11 on the piston 6. In this state, the spring 11 is slightly compressed and the piston 6 is moved slightly downwards in the sliding sleeve 7 in the direction of movement B, so that the radial opening 4 projects beyond the upper opening edge 3 of the passage opening. The overlap area between the radial opening 4 and the passage opening 2 forms an opening cross section 5, which is indicated by thick hatching. If the pressure acting on the piston 6 again drops below the preload force exerted by the spring 11 on the piston 6, the spring 11 moves the piston 6 back to the position of fig. 2A, in which it fluidly closes, or partially closes, the passage opening 2.

Fig. 2C-2E show the piston position at an increased engine speed and lubricant pressure, such that the increased pressure of the lubricant compressively contracts the spring 11 to an increased extent. Here, the radial opening 4 of the piston 6 will move past the passage opening 2, so that the overlap 5 increases first and in the process reaches its maximum in the predetermined engine speed range, as shown in fig. 2.

A particular advantage of the invention is that in the presence of high lubricant pressures, the piston 6 is moved to a position in which the radial opening 5 is moved beyond the lower opening edge 3 of the passage opening and the size of the overlap region between the radial opening 4 and the passage opening 2 is reduced again, so that the opening cross section 5 is reduced again. This is illustrated in fig. 2E. In this way, the cooling oil flow rate can be prevented from being excessively increased.

This is illustrated by way of example on the basis of the diagram of fig. 3, which shows that the oil throughput of different oil spray nozzles varies as a function of the engine speed.

Curves

31 and 32 show the oil throughput as a function of the engine speed for the unadjusted conventional oil atomizer and the unadjusted optimum oil atomizer in each case. Curve 33 shows the oil throughput as a function of the engine speed of the oil atomizer controlled by means of the control valve 1.

Region I shows the oil throughput at engine idle, wherein the piston 6 of the control valve 1 is in a position in which it closes the passage opening 2 (see also fig. 2A), so that sufficient oil is available for the engine lubrication points.

In the lower engine speed range (range II, see also fig. 2B), there is a low cooling oil requirement, so that the small opening cross section 5 is opened. In the medium engine speed range III (see also fig. 2C and 2D), the opening cross section 5 increases stepwise up to a maximum opening cross section (see fig. 2D) due to the oil pressure rise. Curve 33 thus has an increasing distribution in range III.

In the higher engine speed range IV (see also fig. 2E), the further movement of the piston 6 continuously reduces the opening cross section 5 again in order to produce a substantially constant lubricant throughput through the passage opening 2, as indicated by the constant distribution of the curve 33 in the range IV.

In comparison with

curves

31 and 32, it is thus possible to prevent the lubricant throughput from increasing excessively in the higher engine speed and pressure range.

Fig. 4A and 4B show

lubricant supply devices

40, 41 in which the control valve 1 is in a decentralized and centralized configuration.

In the case of the decentralized arrangement of the control valves 1 shown in fig. 4A, a separate control valve 1 is arranged for each oil spray nozzle in order to set the flow rate of the lubricant to be supplied to the lubricant spray nozzles 42.

A constant displacement pump 47 coupled to the speed of the engine (not shown) delivers lubricant from a reservoir 46 through a lubricant line 43. Downstream of the constant displacement pump 47, a heat exchanger 48 for diffusing excess heat in the oil, and a filter 49 are arranged. The oil coming out of the filter 49 is fed via an oil manifold 44 to a separate oil spray nozzle 42, through the control valve 1 and to an oil pressure consumer 50.

As shown in the lubricant supply 42 of fig. 4B, a centralized arrangement of one control valve 1 for a plurality of oil spray nozzles 42 is also possible. For this purpose, for supply to the user 50, an oil manifold 45 is provided, which is separate from the oil manifold 44 of the oil atomizer 42 and which supplies the oil manifold 45 upstream of the central control valve 1.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specific exemplifying embodiments thereof, many variations and modifications are possible which likewise exploit the concept underlying the invention and thus fall within the scope of protection. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt the control valve to the cooling oil flow rate requirements specific to the engine. Therefore, it is not intended that the invention be limited to the specific exemplary embodiments disclosed; but that the invention will include all exemplary embodiments falling within the scope of the appended patent claims.

Claims

1. A control valve (1) for a lubricant nozzle, in particular an oil atomizer, for cooling a piston of an internal combustion engine, the control valve (1) having:

at least one passage opening (2), through which lubricant can flow (2);

a control member which is movable in a respective direction of movement and, depending on its position, forms an opening cross section (5) with the passage opening (2) to at least partially open or close the passage opening (2);

an actuating element by means of which the control element can be moved in dependence on the pressure of the lubricant between at least one first position in which the lubricant is at a first pressure, a second position in which the lubricant is at a second pressure and a third position in which the lubricant is at a third pressure, wherein the second pressure is greater than the first pressure but less than the third pressure and

an opening cross section (5) formed in the second position is larger than the opening cross section (5) in the first position and the third position, wherein the control member is movable in a continuous manner between the first position, the second position and the third position,

characterized in that the actuating element is designed to set the position of the control element and thus the opening cross section (5) such that a constant lubricant throughput through the passage opening (2) is achieved in a higher pressure range of the lubricant, wherein the reduction of the lubricant throughput by reducing the opening cross section with increasing lubricant pressure is set such that the lubricant throughput per unit surface area which is increased as a result of the increasing lubricant pressure is thereby compensated.

2. Control valve (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the opening cross section (5) is at a maximum in the medium pressure range of the lubricant.

3. A control valve (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the actuating member is designed to set the position of the control member and thus the opening cross section (5) such that the gradient of lubricant throughput is smaller in the higher pressure range than in the medium pressure range of the lubricant.

4. Control valve (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pressure (P) exerted by the lubricant on the control member acts on the control member at least substantially in a direction (B) which is one direction of movement of the control member.

5. The control valve (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the control member is in the form of a piston (6) and is guided within a sliding sleeve (7) of a control valve housing (8), wherein the passage opening (2) is provided in the sliding sleeve (7).

6. Control valve (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that the piston (6) has a radial opening (4) in its piston skirt (9), through which radial opening (4) lubricant can flow, and that the radial opening (4) is connected in a communicating manner at one side through the piston interior to a lubricant inlet (10), and that the radial opening (4) forms a communicating connection with the passage opening (2) at the other side when the piston (6) is in a predetermined position range, wherein the opening cross section (5) is formed by the overlap of the passage opening (2) and the radial opening (4).

7. Control valve (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that as the pressure of the lubricant increases, the piston (6) moves towards the actuating member, so that the radial opening (4) moves past the passage opening (2), so that the overlap (5) increases from the first position to the second position and subsequently decreases again from the second position to the third position.

8. A control valve (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the actuating member is in the form of a spring element (11), by means of which spring element (11) the control member can be moved to one of the positions under the spring force exerted by the spring element (11).

9. Control valve (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the passage opening (2) is formed by an annular tube or an annular groove which is introduced into the control valve housing (8) and into the other component.

10. A lubricant spray nozzle, in particular an oil spray nozzle (42), comprising a control valve (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. A lubricant supply device (40, 41) for a reciprocating piston engine of a motor vehicle, in particular a utility vehicle, having: at least one lubricant spray nozzle, in particular an oil spray nozzle (42), by means of which lubricant can be sprayed onto at least one piston of the reciprocating piston engine; and at least one lubricant inlet opening (43), by means of which lubricant can be fed to the lubricant spray nozzle (42), characterized in that a control valve (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is arranged upstream of the lubricant spray nozzle (42), as seen in the flow direction of the lubricant to the lubricant spray nozzle, by means of which control valve the flow rate of the lubricant fed to the lubricant spray nozzle (42) can be set.

12. Lubricant supply arrangement (40) according to claim 11, the lubricant supply arrangement (40) having a plurality of lubricant spray nozzles (42), characterized in that a separate control valve (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is arranged upstream of the respective lubricant spray nozzle (42) in order to set the fed lubricant flow rate for each lubricant spray nozzle (42).

13. Lubricant supply arrangement (41) according to claim 11, the lubricant supply arrangement (40) having a plurality of lubricant spray nozzles (42), characterized in that a centralized control valve (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is arranged in a lubricant manifold (44) in order to set the fed lubricant flow rate for all the lubricant spray nozzles (42).

14. Motor vehicle, in particular utility vehicle, with a control valve (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9 and/or with a lubricant spray nozzle according to claim 10 and/or with a lubricant supply device (40, 41) according to one of claims 11 to 12.